As of yesterday, Team Earth has decided to change the topic due to limited resources of the initial one. During our meeting with the professors, we’ve decided to focus on silk road travelers.
More specifically, we will be doing a cross reference comparison with eastern and western travelers. Perhaps Marco Polo comparing Rabban Bar Sauma & Markos. Using the story map as our medium, we will collect data on their travels through primary and secondary sources. And another thing to add on to this research, specifying it ever more, would be to concentrate on Mongol interaction. Because of Marco Polo’s work with Qubilai Khan, there’s bound to be other travelers who also either advised or experienced interactions with this leader or any other during the mongol rule. Also to note, this then dedicates our research during the 13-14th century, (Around 1206 to 1368 when the last emperor of the Yuan Dynasty passed away).
Thus being said, we’ve found a lot more sources to do the project, and the members have shown much interest with travelers and mongols.
Category Archives: Silkworms
All of the blog posts for the Silkworms.
Digital class
Currently in class, Tierney is giving us a broad range of tools to use for our digital project. One of which includes Metadata. Basically this is whatever defines a piece of information such as author’s name, copyrights, and other varieties of cites that provides useful data about that particular material. It was something that we see in our daily lives; only until today did I realize how to describe this common sight.
Further into this class, the teachers have introduced to us an account on Shared Shelf that enables a community media archive as another resource for our silk road. To clarify, students and professors alike have the ability to upload media relevant to the silk road class into the Shared Shelf account and, with proper citations, share it with the class. All media will have specific bibliographies to be certain of avoiding any copyright issues; as we’ve learned in class, (with both teacher and professor repetitively emphasizing on citing every uploaded image).
This is a great way for students as a whole to share the media that have been seen through their daily internet usages. With the whole classroom given this ability, the SharedShelf account will, without a doubt, be filled with very useful information relevant to our Silk Road project.
Starting Routines and Moving Forward
So I guess this is like my first ~official~ blog post. Well, as a TA for the Silk Road course, I do not have a bunch to say about the Silk Road project itself, for my part in the greater project is not until later in the semester. However, there has been a lot going on in regards to other work for the course as well as the Sky Team dynamics, and surprise, surprise, I’m stressing.
The Sky Team 9/22/16
The Sky Team is still working on narrowing down on a topic that will 1) have enough research to sustain the scope of the project, 2) be interesting and compelling for everyone in the group, and 3) work within the narrative format that is required for the Story Maps. And it is both frustrating and amazing how difficult it is to come up with a research topic within a group dynamic! I have done several research projects in school, mostly by myself, but I did do some in groups. However, the groups were smaller and we had, what felt like, more structure in terms of prompt and expectation. This Silk Road research project feels gigantic because there is SO MUCH that can be researched. How on Earth do we figure out a specific and narrow topic- a single drop- out of the entire ocean of information?? Hopefully meeting with the professors within the next week will help the team decide on a topic.
Also, our team lost a member this week. We are sad to see them go, but I do not think that it will be a huge deal for the project itself because we have not solidified a topic yet. It might make it easier to decide meetings and such as well. Speaking of, it has also been difficult trying to get everyone on the team together and to communicate with each other about the project. Since I am a TA and play more of a mentoring and advisory role, there is only so much that I can do about my team not communicating or talking outside of class and meetings with me. We have started doing weekly meetings all together, so hopefully that will help a little.
I think that I am also feeling overwhelmed because I am not actually a part of the research, so it feels out of my hands. But at the same time, I feel a responsibility for my team. Being a TA is like I am sitting outside of my team, in a weird limbo between student and teacher. Needless to say, navigating the role as a TA has been a very challenging part of the course so far! But I’ll get it!
Technicalities…
The tides are high here on the Digital Silk Road. Right now we are in a bit of a adjustment period. Think about it: Digital Humanities can seem a little like chaining a bunch of humanities students to the computer. We’re humanities students! We like books, not blogging! I keep thinking back to a phrase that a teacher of mine once said: when the tides are high and the winds are strong, lower your sail.
This week has been hard. The work load has gotten the better of us. My whole team has been working hard, but so far there hasn’t been any great pay off. My fear is that we are getting lost in our research and forgetting to keep our scope narrow. Because we do not have a vision for our finished product, it is hard to find direction.
Here are things that I think we need to keep in mind as we move forward:
- We will be using a contemporary map! We can attach photographs of old maps into our Storymap, but we cannot trace our route on it.
- We have to be explicit in what we are and are not looking at. It is only ethical to do so.
What I have been stressing to the team this week is to be mindful of how our information is being presented. What story we tell must fit the framework of Storymap JS. Therefore, we do not have to think about time as much as we do about space. Check out some examples of Storymaps here.
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Speaking of presentation, the other Silkworms and I met with Tierney to discuss how to be administrators of the blog. I won’t go into the nitty-gritty details, but we did stumble upon the subject of web design. I realized how much I care about making this site look good. I think in all our efforts to get this course up and going we have made one over-site: making a webpage that people actually see is not EASY! And if anyone actually does see it, it better be visually enticing–otherwise they will exit right out of the window. To address these problems, we need to do a few things:
- Start placing “Tags” on our posts. I suggest that each team comes up with a series of tags that they consistently use in their blog posts. This will be key in getting viewers!
- Because we are blogging so frequently, we should start to make our posts pretty. We should stress that everyone incorporates at least one image in each post, and should use at least one hyperlink. Keep it interactive!
Both of these things should be started sooner rather than later. It will make going “live” smoother.
The image above was taken by the Japanese photographer, Hiroshi Sugimoto. It is a silver gelatin print taken in 1992 of the Yellow Sea, Cheju. I first stumbled upon this artist, actually, while I was staying at a friends house. They had an original hanging right in guest bedroom! I did some research and quickly realized that Sugimoto is a BIG deal. Check out the rest of his Seascapes series here!
Monday Meeting Debrief: How to Create a Linear Narrative with Many Different Elements
Last night, I met with my group in the library to set up a basic plan of attack for the next few weeks. We talked about how setting up specific data finding/creation deadlines to make our group progress schedule a bit more specific. As per Eric’s advice, I recommended adding deadlines for having all of the images, all videos, all text completed, etc. as we anticipated that data entry will take longer to finish than groups might think at this point.
In our administrator meeting yesterday morning, we discussed that each team will only be allowed to use one single StoryMap to present the work of their entire team, rather than creating multiple maps for different sections of the project. I think this will be particularly daunting for my team since we don’t necessarily have one singular storyline, but one meal that traces out in multiple lines in different directions since they are tracing different ingredients and elements of the meal backwards through time. We made a lot of progress in imagining how our StoryMap will actually end up by drawing out different formations while brainstorming. The best idea that we came up with was to create a center point with the image of the entire meal and take each element, in order of their consumption throughout a typical meal period (starting with drink, first course, second course, etc) and then zooming out to the beginning of the history of that element and tracing it back to the table and overall meal. By tracing inward rather than outward, each element will end at the center and refocus on the larger picture of the entire meal. We will then proceed to trace the next element from the outer-most point inwards and so on. This will make the phases of the project seem almost like flashbacks that lead the reader to the final meal.
We talked about how we will maintain a narrative within this format. We had originally envisioned telling the story from the first person perspective, allowing one person to witness where the ingredient came from and they got it to the table. We also brainstormed telling the narrative in the first person as the ingredient itself. We came upon a final solution of telling the story in the second person perspective, allowing the audience to be the center of the narrative and having them be the person bring the ingredients to the table. This will create a narrative that seems almost like a “choose your own adventure” novel, but structured to be a directed story rather than a number of audience choices.
I was worried that the limited format of StoryMap would limit our narrative abilities, but I think that we have come to a very good agreement and new arrangement for our information. At this point, my team is feeling anxious to learn about the StoryMap tool and is eagerly counting down to our next Tech Lab.
Anna's Monday Meeting
This morning I met with the other Silk Worms, Eric, Zhihong, and Tierney to chat about administrative functions of our website and how our role in creating the technology-based aspects of the larger project will evolve. After this meeting, I have a much better understanding of what my role is within the larger project.
I feel that a lot of the actual administrative work on the current website that involves organizing pages, categorizing blog posts, etc. is pretty straightforward. I don’t think there will be any struggle on my part keeping up with those functions since I’ve done similar jobs on more simplistic websites before. I think that a good bit of the website design (on a very basic level) comes easily to people who have worked with computers in the past—even casually to browse the internet—so I don’t worry about our students being able to do things like create pages and blog posts. I think my biggest worry about the website management basics for both myself and other members of the class will be making sure that citations are done correctly. Our students are proficient in creating citations in a research capacity, but I expect complications from the new necessity to cite photos, videos, and other multimedia elements.
Other conversation that occurred during this meeting explained about how our larger map will incorporate elements of all of the team projects, in a color-coded diagram on top of a larger map. We will be creating this homepage map with Google MyMap, which Tierney showed us. From the basic introduction, I think this seems like a really useful tool and I could see myself using it to create tools for other programs, possibly for Guilford’s incoming student orientation or even surprise scavenger hunts for friends. Google MyMap is one of the tools we are learning that I think will become extremely helpful as a practical skill. I like that we are using this alternate tool rather than StoryMap to create the larger homepage map. I think this tool adds the flexibility that we need to create a non-chronological, non-linear display of four different projects simultaneously.
I think I understand the importance of our role much better now. This meeting clarified that we are not just doing busy work and data entry—transferring what our students create into map points in a different program—but synthesizing what our groups do into a summary and transferring that information into a cohesive, four-project map.
Initial Reflective Post- Sydney
My role on the Sky research team and in the class as a whole is being a TA (a.k.a. Silkworm). The duties that I have as a TA involve acting as a facilitator and mentor to the team, as well as a liaison between my team and the professors of the course, Zhihong Chen and Eric Mortensen. Apart from the teams, I have the role of participating in the class as a student by doing the readings and taking quizzes and tests. Furthermore, I will be working with the other TAs to pull together all of the information (including writings, pictures, documents, etc.) from the teams into one big compilation map of research. In regards to my position as a TA, I believe that I can best assist my team by being available for any questions or concerns that the team might have, as well as doing my best to help resolve those issues, as they arise, in a timely manner. Furthermore, I can help make sure that the team is meeting deadlines and making adequate progress on the research project by checking in on a weekly basis. My biggest apprehension about being a TA is letting go of the control over the research and over the project itself. I have never been in the role of TA, so I will have to learn how to step back and let my group make decisions, but be available for help or direction.
Concerning the course itself, I am excited about physically seeing and experiencing some of the places and cultures that we are learning about this Fall when I attend the study abroad trip to China in January. For instance, it will be interesting to see the different landscapes that helped shape the Silk Road and helped shape the communities that travelled and/or settled on the land. Furthermore, most of the readings and videos for the course have been extremely interesting. I would say that I have enjoyed the documentary “A Thousand Kilometers Beyond the Yellow River,” and the music that we have been exposed to so far, such as Mongolian throat singing and music by Kitaro. I was also intrigued by the article “The Spiritual Identity of the Silk Roads: A Historical Overview of Buddhism and Islam” by Amir H. Zekrgoo because of his discussions about East versus West, and his clear explanation on how new religions form and can be similar to other religions based off of cultural conditions. I think that Zekrgoo’s discussion about East versus West, and the necessity of balance between the two, has many implications that could aid in an inclusive worldview and aid in helpful approaches to everyday life, in small and large matters.
Additionally, I am just so enthusiastic about the content overall in this course. I enrolled in the class Spread of Buddhism Across Asia my final semester at Guilford and I had a wonderful time learning—mainly for the first time—about Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, and the cultures surrounding the creation and spread of those beliefs. It was actually the Spread of Buddhism Across Asia course that made me so eager to come back after I graduated to take the Silk Road course specifically. This Silk Road coarse is allowing me to expand and apply the knowledge that I gained from the Spread of Buddhism Across Asia course while learning about many new ideas, religions, peoples, landscapes, interactions, and history.
Although I am extremely enthused about the course and I am very grateful for the opportunity that I have to take the course, there are still aspects of the course that I am nervous about (mainly because I am just a nervous person). Firstly, I am apprehensive about learning all of the technological aspects of the course. I have never done web design or anything of the like, so I wonder how easy it will be for me to pick it up (and then be able to teach others if they need help). Technology is not difficult for me to learn or understand, but it is not automatically intuitive for me, so it takes me a couple of tries to learn and/or figure out. Additionally, I am anxious about the TAs’ responsibilities for the larger research project because it will be a lot of work in a very short amount of time. I worry that it will be difficult to balance those responsibilities with the other work in the course (such as readings and quizzes), as well as to balance personal time and jobs outside of Guilford. As of now, I feel stressed about the amount of work we are all being held accountable for, so I wonder how others are feeling about the workload. Furthermore, I realize that I am a perfectionist as well, so it takes me longer to finish assignments, thus making me worry more about workload! In order to combat my anxiety and slow (but thorough!) work process, I am aiming to organize my time to make myself more efficient. One way that I am planning to organize my time will be by trying to get things for the course done in advance, because I also have to plan around jobs and for personal time.
Overall, I have noticed the theme of balance arising within this semester for myself, so I will embrace this opportunity to learn how to healthily maintain equilibrium mentally, emotionally, and physically while I strive to do the best that I can in this course and in the rest of my life as well. I will strive to focus on balance and see how that affects my stress and worry. I am so ready to learn more about a part of the world that I do not know a lot about and to hopefully help educate others down the road. It is daunting to think of how little I know about so many other peoples and cultures in the world, but I will do my best to learn what I can in the time I am given with an open mind and open heart.
Inside the Heart
The Heart…
I am [the head of] the Heart. Puns aside, this simply means that I am the Project Manager of the Heart Team. Thus far, my role has led me to take a bit of a backseat in developing our research topic. My work instead is mainly advisory. I’ve facilitated the team as they’ve delegated their own roles, developed a timeline for their work and a topic proposal. I sit back and try to visualize their ideas as a digital project—that is, I try to determine if there is enough information on the subject matter, if the topic needs to be narrowed down, if there is a narrative, if it’s in our technical means, etc. If I can’t see it, then something needs to be modified. Funny as it may sound, this vantage point isn’t easy for me—if anything, I’m a bit of a backseat driver.
Perhaps this wouldn’t be the case if our project weren’t so darn cool! The Heart Team has proposed to observe the ways in which religion, ritual, and music interact in the Mongolian Steppe. Our hope is that we can trace how the diffusion of musical traditions relate to these practices. If we are able to find that there is a relationship, we are going to follow an instrument that has played a significant role in a tradition across time and space—such as the horsehead fiddle.
Below is a video that explains a little bit about the horsehead fiddle:
An instrument such as the horsehead fiddle, provides insight and narrative about tradition and culture. It not only provides a narrative, but it raises questions about how the Steppe culture has been influenced by music and how music has been influenced by the Steppe culture. For instance, the Steppe are deeply tied to horses—and the horsehead fiddle not only emulates a horse, but is made up of horse parts. Is there any relevance to this notion? We seek to tell a story that approaches this question.
What I am most concerned with is narrowing our topic down. Our tactic in choosing a topic was for every person in the group to state where their interests lie. We then took this cumulative list and worked to find a topic that could encapsulate it all. Ritual is an extremely broad subject. Can we really capture it all?
I trust the team. Partially why I have not put the brakes on our brainstorming is because I believe that if there is a way to do this, my team will figure it out. We won’t know how it all connects until our research is done—then we can be selective.
The Team…
Team roles include a timekeeper, a reporter, a recorder, and a facilitator. All roles have been well matched with a team member. Our process of delegation came pretty naturally. Right off the bat, Nathan helped to facilitate the group. Not all the roles were as clear though; every person seems just as equipped to take on any of the roles. So, more out of default we assigned Emily to be the reporter, Jilly as the recorder, and Emma as the timekeeper. So long as each person stays engaged with their position I don’t think we’ll run into any problems.
On top of their team roles, they all have their individual research to do. Emma is specifically looking at the ways in which diffusion has influenced musical instruments along the Silk Road. Emily is researching musical movements and the ways they have influenced the performative qualities of Shamanism. Nathan is interested in religious ritual as well, but with a specific focus on music’s role in medicine and healing. Jilly is observing the ways in which place, religion and politics have influenced traditions of dance and music.
Research Methods…
I need to stress finding common ground. Of course, there is some overlap in subject matter, but I think we also have to shape our ideas to compliment one another. Thus far, the common thread seems to be the horse. Perhaps I will suggest that in these next two weeks we start focusing our research on the horse and allow this information to determine our personal topics.
I am afraid that having such a broad topic will lead our members to stray far apart, causing our collective body of work to not be cohesive. Because of this, having regular meetings will be very important. Perhaps, we should also have work-sessions in which we allot time with the group to do our own personal research.
How’m I Doin’…
Enough about my team—what about me? When I first started working on the Digital Silk Road Project, my role was a lot different than what it is now. Essentially, I was doing what my team members are in the midst of—deciphering my passions and matching them to a time and place along the Silk Road. I chose photography as my passion and devised a plan to explore the ways in which photography is used and exploited, and how it reflects culture along the Silk Road. This project has been left incomplete. When I chose to be a part of the Heart, I had a secret wish that we would focus on photography. Immediately it was made clear that the team’s interests are elsewhere. We decided on music not because any of us are super passionate about music, but because music has a wide enough scope to incorporate our other interests.
In a way, to create this project everyone has had to make a compromise. At first when I realized that my team was interested in music and not visual arts, I felt panicked. How can I be expected to work hard on something if I don’t care for the subject matter? This is what I’ve concluded: Digital Humanities calls on us to work as a team—it doesn’t necessarily matter what the subject matter is because our personal role is what defines the project. So, what I need to figure out is what my personal skills are and what I have to offer to my team. I believe that my background in visual arts will be essential in making a tangible product. In which case, I am not making a compromise; instead I’m expanding upon my knowledge and skill base.
So in other words, to evaluate myself, I am thinking of myself as less of a backseat driver and more as someone who has something important to offer. Just like my team though, I need to do my own personal work—I need to work with Tierney and utilize other resources at Guilford to gain proficiency and confidence in digital media and databases. Like the rest of my team members, I have to stay connected and keep bouncing ideas off of the group to ensure that their vision is coming true.
To answer the question, I think I am doing well. I am in active communication with the team while being set slightly apart. I’m available for questions and concerns, but also serve as a critic for the ideas that come forth. In the breadth of the whole project, I feel strong in my position. I am a student, a Silk Worm, and a junction between my peers and the amazing resources and people we have available to us.
Just for funsies (and because I’m kind of obsessed with photography), I’ve also included a link to the first art space in China dedicated exclusively to photography and video art, the Three Shadows Photography Art Center.
Here is the work of and a link to the artists RongRong and inri, who founded Three Shadows:
The Silk Worm from Earth
The Earth,
I am the Silk Worm for the Earth team. Other than being exploited by having silk reeled out of my body, I also advise the team. With the group sounding like it would be a huge burden, we are, thankfully, not researching the whole Earth. More specifically, we are based on areas of choice, along the silk road, which is still a large chunk of the planet.
During the first meeting, my role as a Teacher’s assistant was slightly murky. I had assumed that I would be another student in the group, except that I report back to the professors. However, after a brief explanation, it was brought to my knowledge that I am in charge of advising the group; to make sure meetings are set, progress is progressing, and time is well-managed. But other than that, I am merely a normal student going on the journey with them.
As for group members, we have Sam, whom in which shows an appreciation for medicinal plants and herbs, Austin, who is interested in architecture and agriculture, and lastly, Jake, who wants to focus on crops grown in different environments. The group started off thinking of how their interests can create crossroads for each other in doing sub-projects for the main project at hand, (as well as figuring out what that main project would be).
Austin went ahead and discussed about researching architecture and agriculture. Jake thought of possibly doing a crossroad with Austin’s research. Sam was thinking. Austin went ahead and said he wanted it all to stick together. Sam then considered that we should do a week of research so things could narrow down. Sam shoots and says he’ll research on medicinal plants and herbs. Jacob then says that he would focus on the crops grown based on environment. I was nodding and writing their speeches on my laptop.
So forth, the team had a meeting and wrote a proposal which states the research question: ““How did the fragility of the agricultural systems and medicine of oasis cities affect the larger silk road?”
And here’s the part where I state what the Earth group is all about. Slightly late, I know. Yet i’m quite certain you have a good idea on what this is about. The Earth team is assigned with the collective interest in medicine, food, herbs, magic, irrigation and farming. Crossing out magic due to some group member trading, we focused mainly on agriculture and medicine. Furthermore, the members of Earth have refined it into what their interests lie on, with the absolute knowledge of building bridges on each individual to create a larger structure. And honestly, I cannot take any credit for what the group has done. I was only there to throw in some advance, and slightly, just slightly put ideas into the brainstorming. This being said, the proposal that was posted that Wednesday night was all because of Sam, Jake, and Austin. You did a fine job, read it more than once.
As an Earthly silk worm, I feel confident that the group members that I have been assigned to will do great in the research. Even before brainstorming and official work, the group showed much enthusiasm to work with one another; a key part in group projects. Also, that our interests are very much aligned, and well grounded in the Earth group. However, I cannot say much as we are only on the first stage.
One of my concerns would be of what I am expected to do. The fear of not giving enough, or not doing a good job as a TA struck me during the first meeting. I was assigned the role of advising the team, yet what if even my own intellect and coordination would fail them. It grows into me, this feeling of being just moderate. Also, creating physical work into digitized files and publishing it into the internet where it is replicated into everyone’s screen in just a click of a button, worldwide. We are available for all that has access to the internet. More so, those who are interested in the Silk Road, and are critical to judge research. A lot comes to mind when concerning inadvertent plagiarism, slightly off data, and maybe even inadequate research. However, this is not to say that my team is below that. This is merely a fear that comes to me. But a benefit nonetheless due to the fact that I will be more aware of what is to be expected. Furthermore, I will keep this fear as a constant reminder of expectations and warnings, similar to that of Murphy’s law, in which anything can go wrong, giving the incentive to reconstruct and replicate for errors, fixing it.
On another note, I have a lot of excitement for this project. The fact that we are focusing on agriculture and farming is definitely my forte. To know more about the origins of organic product, medicinal herbs; almost following it physically as we research historical timelines about different oases and the influences of medicine that have impacted Pastoralists or Agrarians, and so forth. I am more than content that I was assigned into this group.
Also, contrary to what was mentioned above, I am quite excited to see our results go into the WordPress, and globally for all to see. Yes, there are fears of criticism and faulty information, but I do trust that my group can execute and show a well written research paper on the fragility of the silk road. A Yin and Yang of some sort, where fear makes me know that I will work harder and make it better, you can understand this i’m sure.
All this being said, I am grateful to be having the opportunity to travel the silk road this January. From advising the research to stepping on the dirt path that has been the crossroads between countries and key role in influential exchanges, it truly will be a rewarding experience. As Marco Polo says himself, “I did not write half of what I saw, for I knew I would not be believed”.
Anna's Introductory Blog Post
Hello, hello to the wonderful, wild world of the Internet. My name is Anna and I am currently serving as one of the “Silk Worms” for our Digital Silk Road project this semester. I am supervising the “Tongue” group, composed of Billie, Christopher, Zachary, and Delaney. For their project, the Tongue group will be tracing the elements of a contemporary meal from Kashgar back as far as they can in hopes to discover where the parts of this meal originated and what significance those parts hold. Each team member will be taking a certain collection of items or topics within the meal (bread, meat, tea, cooking utensils, folklore surrounding food, etc) and together, create an interactive narrative in the form of a Story Map.
I am extremely happy with how this topic has formed so far and am excited to see how it develops in the future. I think all of the groups had a bit of trouble nailing down their topic before the proposal and we were no exception. Our original interests, while related, were not an approachable topic on their own; interests ranged from language diffusion to Middle Eastern culture, from the rise and fall of empires to the spread of food with culture. Most had something to do with culture and something to do with movement, but that was where the concrete similarities ended. This being said, the first two days of brainstorming were stressful for me. As a group advisor, I did not want to influence their decisions more than I had to. Since I am supervising research rather than actually conducting it, I wanted to make sure that they all got what they wanted out of the topic, but could easily see that the agreements that we were coming to were too broad. There was a miscommunication about an interest in spices, which was never really a consideration for our group. I definitely felt a bit frazzled leaving for that weekend because I knew what the problem was, but I was not sure of my role in fixing it. I knew that it needed to be more focused, but I knew that they were the ones that needed to drive that revision. I was glad to see that by Tuesday, it seemed that the problem had been resolved, a topic was agreed upon, and all was smooth sailing from there.
My biggest anxiety at the current moment is how my role in this process will play out. I do know that I will have a heightened responsibility as we get closer to going live with our website, but at the moment, I do not feel very needed by my group. Perhaps that is simply a good sign. I’m thrilled to be working with a team wherein each team member seems equally engaged, enthusiastic, and committed to both the process and the final project. All four are very competent students. I wonder how I can actually be of help to them, though I am trying to not show my anxieties so I can maintain my place as a role model for this group. It is hard to gauge my performance since I think that I haven’t been of much service thus far. I think that my group has done a great job and that my role will come into play more as we move forward in the process.
One of my biggest struggles in both my personal and my academic/work lives has been the ability to go with the flow. I like to have plans and execute things according to their plan. Throughout my college career, I have taken larger and larger steps in learning to revise, rethink, and learn as I go and I think that this project is by far the biggest. As an Orientation Team Leader, I had a lot of moments when I was revising plans while leading a team of students and I learned to thrive in that environment, despite some discomfort. This project relies so heavily on a “learn-as-you-go” mentality, which is part of what makes this project so cool, but also what makes it challenging for me. It is difficult for me to not have an exact model or rubric to be trying to match. The goal right now is very vague, which makes this an incredible research opportunity, but in some ways a nerve-wracking time to be leading others. The way that I am coping with that is through the wonderful team I have supporting me in this process as well. I think my favorite thing about this entire process is how team-oriented it is. Yes, I am supervising a team of four researchers, but I am also part of a team of four “Silk Worms” (teaching assistants). Beyond that, we work with a team of two professors and even beyond that we work with a team of technology specialists and professionals from other areas of Guilford College. I revel in the opportunity to be a member of such an amazing, intricate team and I think that as we go, we will all learn together and find a way to pull this off.
Beyond the anxieties I have about supervising a team, I know that there are areas where I can be of great help if they need it. My writing skills are well established and I am a thoughtful proofreader. I am comfortable working in a research environment. I am good at managing many sources and citations. I can help with time management skills and planning. As a supervisor of this project, my goal is to let my team members thrive in whatever areas are most compelling to them. I want them to find their passions and execute them to the best of their abilities. Where I believe I want to step in is where they struggle so that this project remains centered on them. They’re the stars and the center of this project and I want their interest and abilities to be the main focus. I see myself as a facilitator for this project and want to help them create the best project they can.
I am really excited to be contributing to this academic revolution that is coming to be Digital Humanities. I have sympathized with Eric’s explanation of the need for a “non-disciplinary” academic system, rather than a categorized list of subjects. I also have seen the damaging effects of the divide between subject, teacher, and student. Digital humanities provides a new way for all these areas to interact—the subject is now the teacher, the student is now the teacher, and the product creates a space where anyone online can now become the student. It is an incredible way of changing education and of breaking down walls. I am proud to be a part of this process and maybe in 50 years, I’ll be looking at a totally different system and I’ll be saying, “I remember back in my day when a History class wasn’t the same as a Religious Studies class and all we did was read one textbook and listen to one person teach and we never looked beyond that. We were so silly to think that way.”